http://www.boatinternational.com | April 2018PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF ALBERTO ZANETTI FOR WALLPAPER*
An old flame
Spark up and reflect on the hallowed heritage of
ST Dupont’s lacquered lighters, saysPeter HowarthS
imon Tissot Dupont, then a 25-year-old photographer to Napoleon III and clearly
something of an innovative connoisseur, founded the eponymous firm in Paris in 1872,
making luxury personalised travel trunks. Over the years, the skillset extended to other
things that travellers might use, and today ST Dupont specialises in bags, lighters and pens.
Customers have included Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie; the Maharaja of Patiala, who
ordered 100 lacquered evening bags, each containing a solid gold lighter; Jackie Onassis had
her wish for a pen to match her ST Dupont lighter granted; Picasso sketched in the lacquer
of three of his lighters, which he gave as gifts; Queen Elizabeth II was given a specially
commissioned personalised travel case for her wedding, and William and Kate received
another case for theirs as the oicial gift of the French government.
If you are a cigar smoker, you’ ll appreciate the handsome Le Grand lighter, which
ingeniously has two flames: a “soft” one for warming your smoke and a “torch ” one for firing
it up. Like all ST Dupont lighters, it is hand-made in its factory in Faverges, France, and
comes in a beautiful, lustrous lacquered finish (up to 10 layers of lacquer are applied).
My favourite features a motif of Da Vinci ’s Vit r uvian Man.ThegreatLeonardodrew
this famous image – a naked man within a circle – in around 1490, to illustrate the ideal
proportions of the human body according to the theory of Roman architect Vitruvius. This
is also available as a made to order set of lighter, pen and culinks, all displaying theiconic
study by the Italian master, and his signature.
Essentially, these objects are conversation starters and
imply that the owner has an appreciation of the finer things in
life. When sparking up the Da Vinci lighter, the user hints at a
cultural hinterland in whichhesitsondeckinthegathering
twilight, cigar in one hand and philosophical tome in the other.
Whatever the reality, that is onehellofanimagetoconjurewith.
Vit r uv ia n Ma n limited editionset:lighter,£700,pen,£700,
culinks, £175, st-dupont.comI started collecting when I
was 20 – my first purchase
was a Mini. My father was
never into motors, but his
close friend Renato Della
Valle – the former offshore
Class 1 powerboat world champion – owned
a villa in Bordighera where he kept around 50
of the world’s rarest and most beautiful cars.
He is the one who instilled this passion in me.
I also collect watches, lighters and knives, and
consider myself very knowledgeable – I always
research thoroughly and it can take me two
years to buy a piece. The more you research
the more passionate you become.
I’m only interested in cars produced between
1990 and 2000, especially Bentleys
(which were entirely handmade
until 1999) and a few Ferraris. I look
for aesthetics and uniqueness;
most of my cars have been
produced in less than 10 examples,
usually after a special request from
a customer. Last month I found a
special commission, two-seater
Bentley coupé from 1998. My friend Eugenio
Amos owns the only other pre-1999 two-
seater coupé; his is right-hand drive and
is more of a racing car.
I am a maniac when it comes to originality- if a car’s wheels, colour or
interiors have been changed,
I won’t even consider buying
it. I want it to look exactly as
it came out of the workshop
or factory. I am also obsessed
with everything handmade.
Larusmiani is the oldest
menswear brand on via
Montenapoleone in Milan,
and our tailors still make
clothes fully by hand the same
way they did under my grandfather, so that’s
very important to me.
The piece with the highest sentimental value is
a lighter, given to me by Aldo Lorenzi, the son
of the founder of legendary Milanese store, G
Lorenzi. It’s the lighter he used his whole life
so I am extremely attached
to it. But if I could raid
someone else’s collection,
it would probably be his
knife collection!
As told to Lucia Ferigutti
A COLLECTOR’S
POINT OF VIEW
GUGLIELMO MIANI, CEO
AND PRESIDENT OF
LARUSMIANIBOAT LIFE